I Madonnari Takes Over at Mission Santa Barbara
You may have seen chalk art before (whether it’s creating with kids in your own driveway, or Bert’s creations in Mary Poppins), but you’ve probably never seen it quite like this. Every Memorial Day weekend, the Mission Santa Barbara hosts I Madonnari, an Italian-style street painting festival. Named after Italian street painters, the event benefits […]
Our Mini-Guide to Desert X, the Desert’s Coolest New Exhibition
You don’t have to go to the Coachella Music Valley & Arts Festival to catch the desert’s hottest art exhibitions (pun intended) this spring. This year marks the Coachella Valley’s inaugural Desert Exhibition of Art, or as it’s better known, Desert X. Running from February 25 to April 30, Desert X is a collection of […]
What is Pageant of the Masters?
Perhaps one of the oddest and yet most entertaining spectacles in the art community is the annual Pageant of the Masters at Laguna Beach’s Festival of Arts. If you haven’t heard of it, allow me to enlighten you: the Pageant of the Masters is a show in which actors recreate famous pieces of art. A […]
Conwy Castle: rooms with a view, and Turner, too
If you didn’t know, Wales is basically the castle capital of the world, or at least the UK. I learned this last weekend during a stay in Conwy, which has a stunning crumbling castle overlooking the sea, which visitors can climb all over. Even on our journeys to and from Conwy, we saw several castles out […]
The York Minster Orb: up close and personal with stained glass
You may not know this, but I (Donald) am studying English in the UK this semester. However, though I’m studying English here, it turns out I’m getting some pretty great art education, too, and I thought I’d share some of my favorite places (expect more to come!). Our first foray into Donald’s UK Art Adventures comes courtesy […]
Getting Soulful at Wayfarers Chapel
I love traveling. I love exploring new places. And perhaps best of all is when you end up going somewhere new and discovering something really cool yet really unexpected. This happened to me just recently when I spent an afternoon in Rancho Palos Verdes, and stumbled across the beautiful Wayfarers Chapel built by Lloyd Wright, son of the famous […]
Pageant of the Masters: don’t just look at art, live it.
There’s no doubt about it. Whether or not you like art, whether or not you like theater, you HAVE to see Pageant of the Masters at some point in your life. This truly one-of-a-kind event features ridiculously detailed live re-creations of classic artworks, also known as tableaux vivants. Not sure what that looks like? Check out […]
Do you remember the color of the sky on September 11?
One meteorologist described the color of the sky on the morning of September 11, 2001 as a “severe blue.” For years to come, the color of that sky would be imprinted into the memories of thousands, only to be distorted by the passage of time and their individual perception. This is the thought behind the only work […]